Long Island 23 New York City 18 Menace in the Backfield Defensive End Goodwin Spearheads Long Island Win by Gregg Sarra Newsday The resounding thud you heard Friday night came from Hofstra Stadium. And it wasn't the fireworks show. It came in the way of a large right hand and it belonged to Holy Trinity defensive end Douglas Goodwin, who stuffed the New York City high school football all-stars all evening in the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge. Goodwin blocked an extra-point attempt and a 40-yard field goal and partially deflected a third-quarter punt that traveled only 12 yards to the Long Island 44-yard line. Goodwin finished with six tackles and one sack, forced a fumble and earned Outback Steakhouse MVP honors as he led Long Island to a 23-18 victory before an all-star record crowd of 10,533 at Hofstra Stadium. "His performance came as no surprise to any of the Long Island coaches," said Long Island defensive ends coach Len Mattera of Long Island Class III champion Amityville. "He was a menace in practice all week. He was so good that we had to change the practice format to keep him out of our backfield." Goodwin, an All-Long Island selection, will attend Boston College in the fall. He was a real problem for the New York City offense and its special teams; on the game's final drive, he forced quarterback Keron Henry of Brooklyn Technical from the pocket twice. "I was getting a great jump off the ball and using my quickness to get through the line," said Goodwin, who had 16 sacks at Holy Trinity this season. "I just play hard all the time." All week in practice the Long Island coaches marveled at Goodwin's penetration. Friday night it won them the game. "He was just fantastic," Mattera said. "Sometimes he was so overanxious, he'd get into the backfield and go right by the play. He was unbelievable." The first half featured a ball-control attack by the City offense and the run- and-shoot by Long Island. Anthony Marasco of Carle Place opened the scoring on a 1-yard run with 10:26 left in the first quarter. Sachem's Chris Onorato kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. The scoring drive lasted 11 plays and traveled 62 yards, keyed by a leaping grab by Tom Casal (Baldwin) for 16 yards and a pivotal first down. "We set the tone early," said Long Island head coach Joe Vito of Roosevelt. "We wanted to move the ball and get some confidence in the offense. We didn't play it conservative and the passing game was working." Baldwin quarterback Matt Shiels completed 3 of 6 passes on the first drive for 42 yards, connecting with teammate Casal twice. New York answered when Curtis quarterback George Hassell connected with Tottenville wideout Ike Roberts for a 42-yard touchdown. Onorato extended the Long Island lead to 10-6 when he nailed a 42-yard field goal. Kings Park quarterback Frank Ingoglia scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter for a 16-6 lead before Russell Jessamy of Canarsie, a C.W. Post signee, scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to make it 16-12 at the half. Jessamy earned the Canon Player of the Game Award after he rushed for 88 yards on 16 carries. Shiels threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Garden City's Dan Doherty with 6:35 left in the third quarter for a 23-12 lead. But when it was over, it was Goodwin who stood tall at midfield after the City's last-gasp pass fell incomplete in the end zone. And he stood where he played all game-in the City backfield. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE At Hofstra Stadium LONG ISLAND 10 6 7 0-23 NEW YORK CITY 6 6 0 6-18 LI-Marasco 1 run (Onorato kick) NY-Roberts 42 pass from Hassell (kick blocked) LI-FG Onorato 42 LI-Ingoglia 1 run (kick failed) NY-Jessamy 6 run (run failed) LI-Doherty 35 pass from Shiels (Onorato kick) NY-Bennett 4 run (pass failed) Television Coverage Schedule --------------------------------------------------------- OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE NEW YORK CITY VS. LONG ISLAND ON NEW YORK CITY: Expect the New York City team to score-and maybe a lot. In this offensive-minded affair, the city team will rely on the championship play of the Curtis team, which has nine players in this game. Three of them are major contributors on the offense: All-City halfback Mike Goodman (1,768 yards rushing, 17 touchdowns), All-City quarterback George Hassell (1,900 yards passing, 16 touchdown passes) and the big man protecting them is 6-5, 350-pound lineman Reynard Smith. The most interesting matchup will pit two-time All-City wideout Ike Roberts (nine touchdown receptions) of Tottenville against All-Long Island cornerback Curtis Williams of Huntington. Both players are headed to Maryland in the fall. ON LONG ISLAND: The Long Island all-stars are geared around a run-n-shoot offense that features three All-Long Island halfbacks in Roosevelt's Jerone Pettus, North Babylon's Omar Palmer and Copiague's Shawn Hatcher. But the key to this game comes down to the defense: Which defensive unit will rise and stop the other team's potent weapons. Long Island may have the most dominant figure in the game on the defensive side of the ball in All-Long Island defensive OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE NEW YORK CITY VS. LONG ISLAND ON NEW YORK CITY: Expect the New York City team to score-and maybe a lot. In this offensive-minded affair, the city team will rely on the championship play of the Curtis team, which has nine players in this game. Three of them are major contributors on the offense: All-City halfback Mike Goodman (1,768 yards rushing, 17 touchdowns), All-City quarterback George Hassell (1,900 yards passing, 16 touchdown passes) and the big man protecting them is 6-5, 350-pound lineman Reynard Smith. The most interesting matchup will pit two-time All-City wideout Ike Roberts (nine touchdown receptions) of Tottenville against All-Long Island cornerback Curtis Williams of Huntington. Both players are headed to Maryland in the fall. ON LONG ISLAND: The Long Island all-stars are geared around a run-n-shoot offense that features three All-Long Island halfbacks in Roosevelt's Jerone Pettus, North Babylon's Omar Palmer and Copiague's Shawn Hatcher. But the key to this game comes down to the defense: Which defensive unit will rise and stop the other team's potent weapons. Long Island may have the most dominant figure in the game on the defensive side of the ball in All-Long Island defensive tackle Douglas Goodwin of Holy Trinity. The Boston College-bound behemoth, who is 6-3 and weighs 280 pounds, has been unstoppable in practices and should wreak havoc with the New York City offense. tackle Douglas Goodwin of Holy Trinity. The Boston College-bound behemoth, who is 6-3 and weighs 280 pounds, has been unstoppable in practices and should wreak havoc with the New York City offense. ----------------------------------------- OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE Bayside's Grant's Like a Rock by Michael J. Woods Staff Writer Jason Grant looks like he has a pair of grapefruits in his shoulders, with oversized deltoids from dedicated weight training. The wide receiver was putting on his pads for a late afternoon practice session yesterday to get ready for the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Hofstra Stadium. Grant is 6-1 and is "190 pounds, 195 on a full stomach." The Bayside resident, who graduated from Bayside High School on Tuesday, has impressed the city team coaching staff; they see the same package that impressed the staff at Rutgers, where Grant got a scholarship to play this fall. "He looks like a big fullback with the speed of a scatback," said Vinny Laino, the Fort Hamilton coach who is the running backs/receivers coach for the game. "On the average team, Grant would be playing tight end and linebacker. It's not like putting a big lug out there; he's a legit, skilled kid with great speed and agility." At Bayside, Grant was the captain and played receiver, outside linebacker and on special teams. Grant had 29 receptions for 445 yards and 1 touchdown. On defense, he had 47 tackles, 5 sacks and 2 interceptions. "He's one of those kids you're lucky to have," Bayside coach Joe Capuana said. Capuana joked Grant did everything but hand out Gatorade on the sideline, but that was only because that was the trainer's duty. "I project him to have a nice career. Where he'll play [in college] I don't know. Personally I'd like to see him at wide receiver," Capuana said. According to Grant, the staff at Rutgers sees him as a cornerback, but he has no real preference. "Wherever I can play and make a contribution. The coaches told me I have the size to make impact as a freshman," Grant said. "I just love playing the game." The transition back to the football field shouldn't be too much of a stretch for Grant, who works at a gym near his home. He just finished up the track and field campaign at Bayside. "I'm looking to have a good time and not get hurt," Grant said. "It's my last organized game before I go off to college and it's a great experience just to be chosen [to play in the Outback game]." The city team opened eyes as more than just basketball players dabbling in football when they won last year's game and Grant wants to cement the respect that city players gained with the win. "We've got good, proper players," he said. "We proved that last year and if we beat them this year then they'll know it was no fluke." ------------------------------------------------------ OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE Saunders, Osborne Carry Beach Channel Banner by Arthur Staple Staff Writer For Frankie Saunders, Beach Channel's triumphant football season feels like a long time ago. The Dolphins' 8-2 year ended on Nov. 13, so it was indeed a while back. But Saunders and Dolphin teammate Frazier Osborne are reliving some of that unlikely year this week, preparing for the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge. The two are among 51 seniors playing for the city team in the New York vs. Long Island game, which is at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Hofstra Stadium. "Being here with the city's best players really brings the season back," Saunders said on Tuesday before the city team's practice at Hofstra. "Especially since me and Frazier are here. Normally, you wouldn't see Beach Channel kids in this game." You'll see these two-and Beach Channel is one of only a handful of schools that have two representatives on the city roster-because they have certainly earned their spots. Saunders is a 5-11, 150-pound speedster who was all-Queens at both wide receiver and defensive back. He'll be strictly a defensive back tomorrow night but said he hopes to be a wideout in college. Nassau CC has shown plenty of interest and Saunders, who graduated from Beach Channel last weekend, has also applied to Hofstra. "I would love to walk on to the Hofstra team, but Nassau is a great place to play too," he said. "There's two roads ahead, and neither of them are bad choices." Osborne, the jack-of-all-trades who earned Queens player of the year honors during his one season at Beach Channel, will only be kicking tomorrow. The 5-7, 205-pound running back/linebacker/kicker is a Tennessee native and is looking at Cumberland College, an NAIA school in Williamsburg, Ky. "I'm a little more comfortable down south," said Osborne, who kicked for Tennessee state champion Trousdale High School as a junior before his father, a pastor, was transferred to a church in the Rockaways. "I made some pretty cool friends up here who took good care of me, like my boy Frankie over here," said Osborne, gesturing to Saunders. "It was a great year." And it didn't end with the Dolphins' 32-27 PSAL playoff loss to Clinton. Osborne and Saunders kept up in the weight room and with conditioning-according to Holy Cross coach Tom Pugh, the secondary coach for the city team tomorrow, Saunders "may be the fastest kid out here." "They weren't required to do anything, but they did," said Beach Channel coach Marty Senall, the city team's linebackers coach. And they are both looking to recall the Dolphins' success last season. "This is great competition," Saunders said. "And we've already shown this year we can play with some pretty good teams. We'll be ready [tomorrow]." ---------------------------------------------------- OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EMPIRE CHALLENGE Pettus Has All the Moves by Gregg Sarra Staff Writer The first move halfback Jerone Pettus made in the Long Island practices for the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge left a lasting impression. For the record, Pettus cut right, then left and without hesitation exploded into a bewildered secondary. It was not unlike any of his numerous scintillating moves throughout his brilliant high school career at Freeport and Roosevelt. It was just that Pettus hadn't done it in front of the best of his peers, like he did this week at Hofstra. Pettus was working in the same backfield with North Babylon halfback Omar Palmer, the Hansen Award winner, given to Suffolk's best player, and the combination of the two left everyone shaking their heads. "You don't see too many backs that move laterally like Pettus can," said All-Long Island receiver Neal Heaton Jr. of Bellport. "He just glides and then when he wants to turn it up, he's gone. Palmer is just as tough as they come. He runs people over." Pettus, who shared the Thorp Award given to Nassau's best player, with Port Washington halfback Jason Ham this year, is among the Long Island seniors preparing for the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Hofstra. Pettus, who is headed for Wisconsin this fall, will give the hometown fans one last glimpse of his fabulous moves. "He's not just a great football player but he's a classy, well-spoken kid," said game coordinator Pete Blieberg of Kings Park. "We have so many weapons on offense I don't think the New York City team will be able to key on Jerone. And that will prove to be a dangerous thing." Pettus broke the all-time career rushing record on Long Island with 5,841 yards on 811 carries and 61 touchdowns. He surpassed the Pittsburgh Steelers' Amos Zereoue (Mepham), who had 5,360 yards. With Pettus going one way and Palmer, who shattered the single-season rushing record at North Babylon with 2,108 yards and 29 touchdowns, the New York City team will be hard-pressed to contain the Long Island offense. "When we add the two of them with Copiague's Shawn Hatcher, we have about 6,000 yards on the ground," Blieberg said. "I just hope the line comes together, that's usually the toughest entity to blend." Pettus, who led Roosevelt to the Long Island Class IV title, will operate behind a stocky offensive line that can open holes and give him some daylight. Palmer, who led North Babylon to the Class II crown, won't be far behind. Long Island will try and rebound from a 13-12 loss last year when Xaverian's Nicky DeSilvio connected on a short field goal as time expired to even the series at one game apiece. Last year, the Long Island contingent thought it would have its way with a much smaller opponent and got beat. "This year we're not making any predictions," said Long Island head coach Joe Vito of Roosevelt. "We'll see what happens." Beware of Pettus. --------------------------------------------- EMPIRE CHALLENGE NOTEBOOK Esiason: Game Nets $50,000 for Cause REPORTED BY GREGG SARRA AND BRAD GEIGER Boomer Esiason stood along the sideline at Hofstra Stadium Friday night and beamed at the continued success of the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge. The former NFL quarterback loved the wide-open affair and credited the coaching staffs with improving preparation each year. The Empire Challenge is in its third season and features the best senior football players from Long Island against the best from New York City. "The game gets better every year," said Esiason, the game's founder. "and more people are getting involved to help us. This is what I envisioned when we got this thing started." The Boomer Esiason Foundation had 44 volunteers for Friday night's game and with the cooperation of the staff at Hofstra the event went smoothly. The goal of the Foundation is to raise funds to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis. Esiason's 9-year-old son Gunnar is afflicted with the disorder. Esiason spends numerous hours with his staff putting together this event. He stood alongside Bill Presti, Chase's vice president for business relationships, during the first half of the game. "I came here two years ago as a fan and I was inspired by the effort that he puts into this," Presti said. "And we wanted to get involved and help out in any way we could." Chase joined Canon, Outback and Newsday as the four presenting sponsors for the game. Esiason said during the first quarter that at least $50,000 would be raised for charity. Proceeds benefit the Boomer Esiason Foundation, metropolitan area youth football programs and the high schools of all of the coaches and administrators as well as the MVP of each team. "The other benefit of all of this is the kids getting to play in this game and practice at the Jets' facility all week long," Esiason said. There also was a coaches clinic earlier in the week. Jets coach Al Groh, University of Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris and Minnesota Vikings assistant Mike Tice spoke to area high school coaches. Heaton Takes Hold Bellport's Neal Heaton Jr. returned a school-record six kicks for touchdowns this year. Heaton was an offensive force for the Clippers and was selected to the All-Long Island team as a wide receiver. When the Long Island coaching staff queried the squad for a holder on extra-point and field-goal attempts, Heaton emerged as their man. "I held at Bellport and I have good hands so I figured why not because I'd get more playing time," said Heaton, who caught one pass for 4 yards in the game. "This was a great experience and it's more fun be out there than on the sideline." Born Too Soon Marco Battaglia, an honorary captain last night and currently a tight end with the Cincinnati Bengals, never had a chance to play in a high school all-star game featuring the city's standouts against Long Island's, a format that is three years old. Battaglia graduated from St. Francis Prep in Queens in 1991 before embarking on a stellar career at Rutgers. "We had something very small with the Catholic High School Football League all-stars, but nothing like this," said Battaglia, who was a teammate of Esiason's in Cincinnati. Other honorary captains were Esiason, Amos Zereoue, Vaughn Sanders, Sam Garnes, Rob Burnett, Lance Schulters, Lloyd Harrison and Gary Balldinger. Record Crowd The game attendance of 10,533 set a record. Last year's game drew 9,233 fans and the 1998 game had a crowd of 10,327 at Hofstra Stadium . . . The game will be shown tape-delayed on MSG at 7:10 p.m. Monday night and again next Saturday at 3 p.m. and July 12 at 7 p.m. --------------------------------------- Inches From Victory Roberts just misses game-winning catch in Challenge by Arthur Staple Staff Writer The game came down to just a foot, the space between Tottenville wideout Ike Roberts and the game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Keron Henry. It's about the same gap between New York City and Long Island high school football, evidenced by Friday night's stirring Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge at Hofstra Stadium. Long Island was a 23-18 winner, hanging on by the slimmest of margins as Henry, a UConn signee, heaved a fourth-and-9 desperation pass that Roberts dove for and missed by inches at the goal line. Holy Trinity lineman Doug Goodwin was named the game's MVP, blocking a pair of kicks and helping to clamp down in the second half for the Island team. Canarsie's Russell Jessamy rushed for 87 yards-84 in the first half-to earn City MVP honors. The City outplayed the Island team at times but mistakes kept the visitors behind. The turning point of the game came in the third quarter with the Island holding a 16-12 lead. Jessamy rushed around to the right side and tossed up a halfback option pass to a wide-open Juan Santos of Curtis; the ball bounced off Santos and right to Brentwood's Chris Porter, who returned the interception to the City 35-yard line. Two plays later, Island quarterback Matt Shiels of Baldwin eluded the grasp of Christ the King lineman Aki Jones and fired a touchdown pass to Dan Doherty of Garden City. "We made some mistakes and dropped some passes," City and Curtis head coach Fred Olivieri said. "And they played flawless football. But we didn't give up." The City rallied to 23-18 on Poly Prep's Lance Bennett's 3-yard run with 2:35 to go and got the ball back for one last try, which fell short. "Even though we were losing [16-12] at the half, it felt like we were in control," Jessamy said. "The interception changed the whole momentum of the game. If we catch that ball, we're ahead and we're hyped up. We got down after they scored." The City team started a bit sluggishly on defense, permitting a 62-yard scoring drive by the Long Island squad to open the game. Carle Place fullback Anthony Marasco capped the 11-play drive that took 4 minutes, 34 seconds with a 1-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead. But the City team responded with a 73-yard scoring drive, kicked off by a pair of good gains from Curtis tailback Mike Goodman and finished in style by Curtis quarterback George Hassell's 42-yard touchdown strike to Roberts, a Maryland signee, on third-and-12. Goodwin bulled through the City line to block Holy Cross' Antonio Treglia's extra-point attempt to keep the Island in front 7-6. The teams traded turnovers on consecutive possessions -Sheepshead Bay safety Luis Valmon, Jr. picked off Shiels, but Hassell was picked by Brentwood's Edy Lobo three plays later-before Long Island extended its lead on Sachem kicker Chris Onorato's booming 42-yard field goal. Early in the second quarter the City tried to answer with a field goal of its own, but Treglia had a 40-yarder blocked again by Goodwin. The City had its most damaging error of the first half midway through the second quarter when Bennett fumbled an exchange with Henry at the City 49. The ball skipped away from several players before Harborfields' Kevin Gribbin fell on the ball at the City 23. Quarterback Frank Ingoglia of Kings Park scrambled in on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to put the Island ahead 16-6 following a missed extra point. But then the City's ground game picked up behind the determination of Jessamy, a C.W. Post signee. The Canarsie grad picked up 47 of his 84 first-half yards on the drive, including a second-effort 6-yard pickup for a touchdown with two minutes left in the half. Jessamy was maybe too good: When the City team lined up to go for two points, it was short Jessamy, who was giving a sideline interview. The broken play produced no points. The City had 364 yards to the Island's 205, including a 215 to 71 rushing advantage, and the City's defense, after the game-opening drive by the Island, clamped down well - especially on the Island's top rushers, Roosevelt's Jerone Pettus and North Babylon's Omar Palmer. The two combined for 36 yards on 16 carries. ---------------------------------------------------------- Mistakes Hurt City, but Pride Is Intact by Michael J. Woods Staff Writer Fierce pride bubbled and boiled to the surface at the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge at Hofstra Friday night, as high school senior All-Stars from the five boroughs competed against Long Island for bragging rights and to make a statement that city players aren't only suited for duty on the basketball court. "It's very important to represent the city," said 6-4 linebacker Gus Tyson from August Martin, who is headed to Virginia Union in the fall. "We wanted to show them that last year [a 13-12 city win] was no fluke. There are a lot of great players on Long Island, but we wanted to show the rest of the state and the country that good players are in the city, that we're not just [good at] basketball. That's a stereotype, and people say we're all about parties and girls. That's a lack of respect. "Everyone invited their family," Tyson said. "It's hard for Long Island to believe we beat them last year." Long Island acted as if it refused to believe that it was the inferior team Friday night, as it capitalized on mistakes by the city team to win, 23-18. Akil Guiton, a defensive back from Springfield Gardens who will attend Nassau Community College, cited the mistakes, especially on the part of the city's receivers. Frankie Saunders, a defensive back from Beach Channel who is headed to Hofstra or Nassau CC, said his team was overanxious. "We had the city on our backs. Everyone invited family," he said. "Long Island just looked like they got the best of us. We know we made too many mistakes. But we're all All-Stars." Joe Capuana, the head coach at Bayside and an assistant for the city team, echoed Saunders' belief about misplays. "We weren't crisp," he said. "You can't win when you're not crisp." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge - New York City vs Long Island All-Star Football Game 1 World Trade Center Floor 101 New York NY 10048 United States Telephone: 212-527-8803 Facsimile: 212-938-7123 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday Eastern Standard Time